Heathrow’s problems result from a flawed concept

This article from Financial Times is about Heathrow airport. The conclusion maybe helps Brazilian's also. Reading before giving an opinion.

The mistake is a failure to recognise that a different approach is needed to activities that cannot be commercial but need to be distanced from day-to- day political control. There was too much haste in following up on successful early privatisations, in a perhaps justified belief that almost any organisational structure would be better than the British conception of nationalised industry.

And so the activities for which that different model is required would veer from crisis to crisis. This week, Heathrow is infuriating its passengers; before that, Channel 4 was broadcasting racist abuse and ripping off its viewers on premium-rate phone lines. Before that the problem was Railtrack, before that Yorkshire Water. These activities are not and never will be normal businesses, which is why privatising Channel 4 would be a mistake and the acquisition of BAA by Ferrovial was inappropriate.

The solution is a differentiated financing and governance structure for these hybrid corporations: a structure that emphasises that their prime accountability is to customers not shareholders. Among the financial, legal and political minds penned every day between the cattle rails at Heathrow security, there is more than enough expertise to work out the fine print. Full article By John Kay